Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

His fingers are soft, just like she remembers them. They’re cold and bony, too. It’s so very Sasuke, it burns her inside. It’s a miserable thing, to watch him go. Hurts in a way she didn’t know was possible. A cut so deep, and so invisible.

Hinata misses Sasuke. Sasuke misses her more.

It’s wrong, she thinks, that he can look so pretty like this, even when she’s got an ugly crying face on. That he can look at her, so indifferent, like none of this matters. But she can see the layers underneath. The pinch at the corners of his eyes, the difference between his listless frown and his sad frown. His lips almost pout like when they were babies.

How she wishes she could go back.

“Hi Sasuke.”

“Hi.”

Hinata giggles a soft sound, keeping it behind her polite hand. It’s always been a treat for the girl when the Uchiha came to the Hyūga compound. A place she’s so familiar with, despite all of the pain and misery, she gets to show him the beauty of her clan. They’re so young, but she still knows how to speak just right, point out everything pertinent, and show pride in the family. He marvels because it’s usually his own family doing this whole charade.

“Is there fun stuff here?” he questions, and she falters.

Fun stuff.

Soon, her father instructs her caretaker, Kō, to escort them to the training grounds, where they can have ‘fun’. Hinata marches on, concealing her misery at the idea of having to spar during an event, while Sasuke continues with an air of wonder, barely looking back at her. When they arrive, Hinata fully expects to get into a fighting position, but instead, Kō calls them to a low table where the elders usually sit and watch them. Her eyes go wide when he tells her to sit, the question falling out of her mouth.

“Am I a-allowed?”

Kō gives her a smile with a nod. A gleeful sound, still quiet, leaves her as she slides onto one of the pillows. She looks up with wide eyes at Sasuke, who continues to look confused, but still takes the seat across from her. Between them, Kō lays a plate of two Taiyaki and both of their eyes brighten. Sasuke reaches out but stops himself just short of swiping one of the elusive desserts. Recoils his hand and looks at the elder Hyūga, who is looking back at him with a soft expression, yet still expectant. After a moment, he turns the plate. “Please, Lady Hinata and Sasuke.”

They grab their desserts with excitement, and both immediately take comically large bites.

Afterward, the elder Hyūga escorts them to the courtyard and reveals two long, slim sparklers from his robe sleeve.  Sasuke looks on curiously as Hinata’s eyes go big. “A-are those…?”

“Sparklers?” Sasuke finishes for her, stepping towards Kō, who holds one in each hand towards them. “Whoa…”

“Have you ever used one, Sasuke?” Kō asks as the boy takes it in his little fist, holding it in front of his face.

“Once, at my birthday.” Sasuke cautiously touches the tip with a finger. Kō pulls a box of matches out and moves to strike one. Sasuke’s eyes finally light up and a smile pulls at his lips. “We get to, really?”

Hinata makes an excited sound when Kō lights her sparkler, stumbling backward with it. Sasuke gasps as his is lit just after and they both break into thrilled laughter. Sasuke can’t think of the last time someone else’s excitement infected him so thoroughly. Beyond their notice, Kō slinks back to the other end of the room so the two have space to run.

“Careful!” he yelps when a small spark lands on his wrist, causing Hinata to come to an abrupt halt. She nearly drops her sparkler as she speeds over to him to inspect the possible wound, but he takes a step back. “It’s-it’s okay!”

“It is?” she asks, mooning her eyes at him, and he feels guilt wash over him.

“Yeah, look.” He holds his wrist back out towards her, and she tilts her head to look at it. He laughs, quietly, an attempt to lighten the mood. “Don’t be such a worry wart.” It’s something his mom tells him when he starts overthinking things. He waves the sparkler in front of him, which brings her attention off of him. “These are gonna go out soon, look!”

“Oh!” she gasps, looking at her own getting shorter. She laughs when he starts running off again and she joins him.

Hanabi’s too little to play and her cousin hasn’t been very nice to her lately, so Hinata savors every last bit of time she gets with Sasuke. She doesn’t know the next time he’ll be here.

“I really wish we could do this forever,” Hinata huffs out without much thought as she comes to a stop, her sparkler just about burnt out. She breathes in deeply when Sasuke looks back at her curiously.

“What the heck do you mean?” He turns on his heel to face her, lowering his now extinguished sparkler.

She feels warm in the face at his brash tone. “I’m h-happy when I’m with you.”

Sasuke looks contemplative, almost a glare on his face, but Hinata doesn’t let it bother her too much. She hums softly as she treks back to the table where their unfinished desserts lay, and plops down on her pillow. He follows after her, watching her sway a little with the too-big pastry in her little hands.

He starts to think the quietness of the compound is comforting. He sits down across from her again and takes up his pastry. After finishing his last bite, he looks at her, and with a little shrug, he says, “I like it here.”

Hinata smiles, big.

It doesn’t really hit Sasuke until he’s confronted with the stink of the overwhelming grief of a funeral. How terribly sad everyone is, the negativity permeating every conversation, every look, every emotion.

Hinata Hyūga’s mom died a few days ago. He doesn’t know how; no one will tell him. He hasn’t seen her since weeks before the event. He’s got no clue what to do.

His mother told him to look at her with kind eyes and hug her.

His father told him to leave her alone.

They arrive at the Hyūga compound before the procession. A brief glimpse of her as they walk to the incense site, then his eyes settle on her. When she starts sobbing as they set the casket on a pedestal, he steps forward. A heavy hand lands on his shoulder and he stops without looking up. Helplessness.

“Hinata…” he murmurs to no one but himself.

Just a kid, Sasuke sulks back into himself, because he has no idea how to process any of this. It’s a dreadful situation, because he thinks he wants to run up and hug her like his mom said, but also feels like it’s better to just leave it.

His eyes trail to her father, the clan leader, who has an impeccably stoic face on, staring down at the casket. It would be hard to discern any emotion from the man’s face at all. But what he does notice is that he isn’t chastising Hinata, isn’t looking down on her or nudging her. Her caretaker simply holds her shoulders to steady her. He watches, eyes not leaving her as prayers are spoken and sage is left.

When she looks at him, he freezes. She stops sobbing, if only for a minute, and her forehead scrunches up. She reaches out. He reaches back. It’s a punch right through the chest as both of them are escorted away.

It’s been almost a year since they began classes together. They sit away from each other in the classroom. At break, Hinata sits under a tree by herself and Sasuke disappears.

Sometimes, they come face to face. When they’re paired up or put in a group. Or when they pass each other,

“Hello, Sasuke.”

“Mm.”

Always the same.

Until one day, they are all meant to enter a match. Hers is a simple match against Ino, that ends fairly quickly when she can’t land a hit and gets swept in the leg. She crashes without much of a fight. Theirs is one of the last matches of the day, and while their sensei gave her a brief stint of attention, she was still left with a scuffed chin that stung and hadn’t been treated. But it’s been too long since she was allowed to openly cry, so she just tolerates it, suppresses any tears, waiting for the school day to end and see if Kō will fix her up.

Before the end of the day, Sasuke scoots himself over to where she sits alone and she looks up at him in surprise. He’s already got a small container of ointment out and his eyes are on her chin. Instinctively, she moves her head away when he reaches out towards her face. Their eyes meet and her brows crease together in concern.

“Please, d-do not bother,” she whispers, glancing to the side to make sure their sensei was still focused on the current match. The last she wants is a scolding that may reach her father’s ears. When she looks back at him, he has a pouty look on his lips, eyes glaring as he reaches up again. She ‘mmph’s at him, choosing not to fight it because Sasuke’s always been this way. Arguing with him will just make him louder.

“Sorry,” he mumbles as he touches her chin with a dab of ointment, seeing her cringe just a bit. So slightly, someone might not even notice. Years of being beaten down and punished for letting the veneer of strength fade even a little will do that. She shakes her head faintly, and she sees him smile. “Not for that. I said it ‘cause we don’t hang out.”

She frowns. They never see each other because they’re both training. He’s working to impress his father and get his brother to take him along on missions. She’s working on simply being seen as acceptable to her clan, while actively avoiding their ire. Their little lives don’t allow them to be the kids they once were.

When he finishes rubbing the ointment in, he wipes at her face. She lets him; it feels like forever since someone has touched her with any sort of geniality. After a moment, he scoots closer and turns his face up and away from her, letting her see a fresh scuff on his jaw. She pinches her lips together and without thinking, touches it. When he winces, she gasps under her breath. He shakes his head, waving her away. Seeing him hurt makes her stomach flop uncomfortably.

Who knew it would be the last they’d share a touch like this for such a long time.

Chapter Text

It’s been 3 years since the Uchiha massacre, but she still remembers the day she found out with painful clarity.

It’s devastating, because all she can think of is Itachi’s tired smile and Mikoto’s kind eyes. All she can think of is Sasuke with his hands up and face lit with excitement as he talks to his older brother. How cruel the world must be to take that away from him.

She hadn’t gone to school for two weeks when it happened. Neji came and went, her quiet requests for information ignored.

“Do you think that kind of thing could happen here?”

Whispers around the compound that made her heart sink.

In a rapid instant, it became clear.

“All of them…no survivors. Just the boy.”

Just the boy.

Those words reverberate in her head for years to come. Too much for her little mind to wrap around. Making logical sense of things was never her strength.

How many people are in the Uchiha clan? A hundred? A thousand? How many of them are related to Sasuke? How many of them have been to the Hyūga compound? Who has she ever bowed to? Looked in the eyes? Played with?

How many were her age?

Where…is Sasuke?

“Father…” It had taken everything in her power to force out, in the faintest voice, clenching her robes. One of the rare times they had tea together, while he’s looking over paperwork. Usually, it’s an hour of silence, but it’s still time spent together and it still counts. She’d stared straight down at the table but could sense his gaze has lift to look at her. “The Uchiha…” She could even sense the darkening of his eyes as the name left her lips, made taboo overnight.

She mustered the courage to look up to his face, lock eyes. She was right. They were darker.

Sasuke’s birthday passes and no one remembers. The academy term ends just before, falling right in the middle of the summer break, so there’s no sensei around to acknowledge him. The weather is too warm for such a cold little boy. Still, the grounds where his family once lived are empty and his apartment is hollow. It’s no place to spend the day. So, he fastens his sandals, straightens his collar, and straps on his weapons. A good time as any to train.

There’s a lump in his throat that gets easier to swallow every 23^rd of July.

As he shuts the door behind him, he scans the grounds before him, a habit he picked up within his first few days of living alone. When he hears footsteps, he waits to see who will pass through before heading out. Sometimes the Hokage drops by, and maybe his birthday wouldn’t be an unusual time to do so. Perhaps someone dropping off a little extra spending money for his birthday. A jōnin he doesn’t remember did that two years ago, but not last year. The footsteps get slower before eventually stopping, and he sees no one. He can, however, tell they were coming from some fencing surrounding the area, so he stares at the spot curiously.

A quick swipe of dark hair peaks out from behind it, and he meets eyes with the person sneaking around his dwelling. None other than a meek girl he used to be so at ease with once. Their shared glance lasts less than a second before she’s disappeared once more, and those footsteps return once more, now broken into an audible run. He feels a deep frown pulling his lips down involuntarily.

He tries not to care what other people think of him these days, but he can’t help but feel offended.

The sight of him outside of the Academy is so repulsing, his childhood friend can’t even stand to lay eyes on him, runs away even. On his birthday of all days.

She’s always been dim, anyway.

That’s what he tells himself, because it’s better than thinking he’s some sort of freak that can only be ogled from a distance. With that, he shoves his hands in his pockets and heads off, ready to wipe this unpleasant experience from his mind, just like he does all the others. His mind is too busy with one nightmare held strong in his memory, the rest aren’t worth busying himself with.

Why is she snooping around here anyway?

The grimace on his face hasn’t left.

“Looking more sour than usual, Sasuke.”

The corner shop closest to his residence is his first stop, and the clerk greets him with a look of indifference like any other day. He doesn’t acknowledge the man, and simply heads straight for the prepacked onigiri. Grabs one from the back because that’s how his mom taught him to pick his perishables. Today of all days is one where she’s on his mind more than usual.

Because of that, he stops next to the prepackaged cinnamon roll style cakes. The kind with way too much sugar and take two bites maximum to finish. His taste for sweets isn’t what it used to be, but his mom was a fiend for them. Hid them from him and Itachi and he caught her indulging in secret more than once, in which she’d always graciously split it with him. On his birthday, she’d always give him two, just for him. Even though he had never liked sweets all that much even before this, he still savored those two little cinnamon rolls. They were tastier when gifted.

He doesn’t give it all that much thought before grabbing two. Takes that and the onigiri to the register and pays without making eye contact with the cashier. 

Feels like no one can help him, even if he asked for it. Not even this cashier can do anything except hang him his change, receipt never expected in the first place.

As he exits, the dark hair returns, but now he can see her. Eyes big, nervous smile, hands clasped in front of her. He looks at her for only a moment before immediately moving past.

“Wait, please.”

It’s clear and makes him stop. He wants to groan, roll his eyes, kick his foot. Instead, he turns to look at her. She opens her hands, and steps towards him. His eyes fixate on a long cylinder in her hands, tri-color from tip to tip with lots of excited text sprawled across it. He twists his lips, crinkles his nose.

“No, thanks.”

How cruel it is to spend your birthday alone.

Hinata knows the feeling.

And it’s not Hanabi’s fault. How can one except a 5 or 6 year old to reliably remember their older siblings birthday? No, if Hanabi knew, Hinata knows she’d have at least paid her a visit. Maybe insisted on some treats and a trip to the corner store. Without Hanabi, Hinata’s birthday passes quietly in the winter, buried in the cold, and she never makes a fuss.

Her classmates celebrate their own birthdays with glee and she just tries to absorb some of that happiness.

It was her first time sneaking off while Kō was with her. Whether he was watching her closely or not, she didn’t know. But she successfully found the sparklers with the street vendors, and with excitement, was fully ready to purchase more than a few.

One of her fonder memories is of Sasuke laughing with such gusto, he looked like he would burst. She thinks about that face wrinkled with laughter when she’s by herself, and it makes her smile big, too.

“You like to see ‘em spark up nice, huh, little one?”

Hinata had looked up, alarmed. She had a set of sparklers in her hands, ready to take them for herself and set them off in glee, if she could escape her handlers long enough.

“Oh-uhm—” she stuttered out, putting the sparklers back where they came from and standing up straight. The man teasing her nudges his head to the right, blinking with a shifty smile. Hinata reluctantly looks over her shoulder towards an array of intimidating fireworks. “These are…fun?”

“More than.” The man crouches next to her and she wonders with vague familiarity who he is. He takes on off the shelf and holds it in front of her, chuckling when she immediately steps back. “Ya light this end, point it away from yer vitals, and let it rip!”

He gestures towards her and she reluctantly takes it in her hand, looking intently. Makes sure the supposedly lit end stays away from her face.

“It’ll spark and get bright and then BOOM!” Hinata jumps, breath held in her chest.

It’s just what Sasuke would want, she thinks.

Excitedly, she pays for a half dozen to a happy shopkeeper.

“You’re insane!” Sasuke shouts, loud and happier a way he hasn’t been in a long time. Hinata’s giggle is mad, just as insane as he describes her, but so full of joy. The firework launches from her hand with an intensely loud POP, causing them both to duck to their knees, falling towards each other.

There was no true option to say no. As much as he thought he wanted to tell her to scram like a stray dog, just leave him alone. When he looks at her, he feels a sense of home that he can’t get anywhere else. He can’t resist it. Doesn't want to.

As they both rest of their shins, staring up at the sky where the roman candle leaves its mark, their hands clench together. The explosion and bright colors keep them distracted, unable to sense anything except the intensity before them. The sun is out, but it doesn’t matter because the flashing lights and loud sounds right in their view are the only thing visible. Whether it might blind them is so far from their minds, it’s not even a possibility.

Hinata says something without looking at Sasuke, but he can’t hear it over the scream of fireworks.

When the sound dies down, he looks at her. Looks at their hands, tangled and gripping so tightly. His chest tightens while his eyes land back on her face, red and beading with sweat, a giant smile pulling her lips apart. The last bit of color from the fireworks shine in her eyes and it’s a strange thing to see. Strange but wonderful, like they’ll live on in her vision. His fingers squeeze around hers without much thought.

“You can see forever, it feels like.”

There’s a sort of eerie quiet that follows fireworks after the cheering dies down. The air is full of smoke and there might be something on fire in the distance. All that’s left is their labored breathing, excited and exhausted at the same time.

Her breathy question hits him, “Are you okay?”

Sasuke snaps back to reality, sitting up straighter and yanking his hands away. Hinata slowly draws her own hands back, flexing her fingers as she looks at them. Had his grip hurt her?

His bag is laid half-haphazardly a few meters from them and his eyes shift there. He sees the cinnamon cakes peaking out and glances back at Hinata, who is smoothing out her pants and climbing to her knees. Quickly, he snatches them up and tears one open, catching her attention. He tries not to make his attention too obvious as he peers at her, awaiting her reaction. She looks curious.

“Here.” It’s impulsive, he doesn’t even realize it when he grabs the other one and puts it in her lap.

Hinata looks down in surprise, taking the plastic-wrapped confectionery in her hand to inspect. He feels too weird to look up, so instead, he focuses on the one in his own hand, and takes a bite.

Nostalgia floods him, overwhelmingly. Sad and happy.

His mother’s face, smiling down at him. A warm feeling, it makes his belly and cheeks feel warm. If he felt hot from excitement before, he now just feels some gentle glow around him. Like, if he just chewed a bit and looked up, he’d see her.

Hinata looks at him with such warmth, it burns.

“No.”

Crumbs cling to his lips as he says it, looking at her in awe. Her eyes are closed and she looks downright blissful. The cake is clutched in both hands to her mouth, and anyone would feel the happiness radiating off of her.

Sasuke feels it.

“No?”

He freezes, air locked in his lungs as he watches her serene look turn from sweet to concerned.

It almost makes him sick, the way he wishes she’d stay sweet. How much he likes looking at such a cute face, pink cheeks, wrinkles in her eyes and a crinkle in her nose. That it positively rots him to his core how much he likes it. He likes it, he likes it.

“No.”

The way he has to deepen his voice to make it sound serious feels stupid.

He gets up, crunches the plastic in his hand, and throws it to the ground.

“Go home, Hyūga.”

The way she looks pains him in a different way that almost angers him. Almost. But he keeps himself cooler than he thought he could. His eyes follow as she stands, curling the plastic in her own hand, too.

“S…Sasuke?”

“Sasuke, don’t be rude.” His mothers voice reverberates in his head, makes him shudder. A choked sob sneaks up on him and his eyes well up with tears. He turns, inhaling deeply. It feels like a glow in his mind, a pale sort of figure in front that lovingly scolds him. He almost feels fingers in his hair.

He swallows, steels his gaze and resolves not to look away when he speaks to her.

It’s the least she deserves.

“Go home, Hyūga.”

Immediately, her lips curl to a frown and her hand clutches to her chest.

It doesn’t matter, though, because it’s finally time she hear it.

That he wants nothing to do with her.

As she watches him go, she stays standing.

Sasuke Uchiha wouldn’t be back for years.

Hinata would wait.

Chapter Text

It was so childish, Sasuke thought, being stuck in a closet with Hinata. Warm and uncomfortable, his collar feels so tight around his neck. He can tell she’s got her back pressed completely against the wall, trying to create as much space as possible.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers, and he rolls his eyes. “Hanabi can be so…such a…”

“Little shit?” he finishes for her, pulling at his collar. He hears her fidget without a response. Typical. “She’s lucky I don’t smash down this door and roast her.” A sucked in breath sounds from her and he sighs. “You don’t think I’d actually hurt her?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Well…” he mumbles, feeling a little insulted. “Don’t be so sure.”

“Let me see if I can…” He blinks, trying to see what she’s doing, but there’s barely a sliver of light leaking in from the small gap under the door, and it simply illuminates their feet. He eyes hers as they shuffle towards the door, closer to his own, and he doesn’t move to get out of her way. She’s jiggling the hinge, something they’ve already tried, but it’s clear she’s desperate to get out of this without alerting any of her clansmen. Even he knows how this looks.

“Move,” he grunts, bumping his body into hers. A small squeak escapes her as she recoils, and he tries to ignore how it makes him feel. He pulls a small shuriken from his pouch. A kunai would be better, but he doesn’t carry all his weapons on him when all he’s supposed to be doing is visiting Kakashi. He tries to wedge a sharp point between where the door meets the wall, saws slightly, tries to carve out the wood there, anything he can think of. None of it works, because he’s basing his actions off what he’s seen in movies, and they always lie.

“Maybe this would be better?” He turns at her voice and feels a sharp blade graze his arm. He hisses, pulling back as if he had been actually attacked, and hears her panicked gasp. “Oh no! Oh my – I’m sorry, Sasuke, I –“

“Give me that,” he snaps, moving his hand to the side to get a basis for where her arm is. He feels her elbow and grasps it, then slides his hand along her forearm. His blood feels hot as he does it, probably because he’s now got a wound on his own arm. He feels her fingers gripping a kunai, and he pulls it from between them. Her grip loosens and he takes it into his hand. She moves away from him, and he sucks in a sharp breath, trying a little too desperately to mask his pain. Wonders how deep the cut is – but the only way to know is to get some light on it so he can properly check.

After a few pointless moments of wedging the kunai in the door jam, sliding it up and down and probably making some very noticeable dents in the wood, he grunts and steps back, knocking into some things behind him.

“Can I check your wound?” she whispers, and he feels her hand slide over his that is holding the kunai.

“You can’t see it,” he mumbles, letting her take the kunai back from his hand.

She hums, guiding him to sit on the floor. There’s no good reason to let her move him around like a doll, but he does. He feels her sidle up next to him, pulling his arm into her lap. As if it wasn’t warm enough in here. He sucks in a breath as he feels her fingers slide over the tendons, until they find the slice in his arm. There’s no chance he’d let her feel him flinch or hear him gasp.

Artfully, she cradles the arm with one hand and rummages through her own pouch. He feels cotton, the slight sting of alcohol, and then pressure. Even without light, without being able to see, she’s a properly trained kunoichi, and can take care of a wound sightlessly. It’s basic to ninja training, he’s not impressed. Even if it was quick and efficient, barely hurt at all. Handling him with all the familiarity in the world.

“Let’s see…” she mumbles, and he hears her going through her bag again. Then the feel of a damp cloth slides over his arm, gentle pressure all along it. He lets a small sigh leave him as her touch massages the area and wills his heartbeat to slow. “Are you feeling faint at all?”

Why would she ask that? “No.” He hears another hum from her. Slowly, she sets his arm back in his own lap, and the warmth is gone, only to return upon his neck, right on his pulse point. Dangerously close to the Cursed Seal.

“Sorry,” she says while his mind clouds, “I couldn’t get a good pulse on your wrist.”

He does her the simple courtesy of not responding while she checks his heart rate. He feels her nail slide against his neck and already knows she’s going to feel how quick his pulse is. When her hand leaves his neck, he reaches up to take it in his own. He feels her tense and his gut flips. “Am I hot?”

“Are you…” he hears the word catch in her throat and he presses his lips together, waiting. He moves her hand up to his cheek and her palm presses against it, then he lets go. Her hand travels up and she presses the back of it to his forehead. “You’re…clammy.”

Clammy?

He scoffs, pulling back from her, but she comes closer and he feels the cool wet towel from earlier against his forehead. “It’s…well, it’s a bit claustrophobic in here. It’s normal to be nervous.”

“I am not nervous.”

He says it with spite but doesn’t move away anymore. There’s no real room to move, anyway. She says it’s claustrophobic in here but she’s given him zero space. He doesn’t complain.

…

Sasuke gasps when he awakens. Pulls his hand up to his face and flips it from front to back, back to front. Just one hand – and he’s not 12.

Maybe sleeping inside of a closet isn’t the best thing for him. However, it is what he deserves, he had decided.

Especially since Hinata hasn’t returned.

Being stuck in a closet was certainly one way to be close to a boy. It wasn’t even unusual by preteen standards, even Hinata of all people knew of the concept of “seven minutes in heaven.” A game that she was overwhelmingly thankful that she had never had to participate in, despite the things Ino and Sakura whisper.

Somehow, this is worse.

Hanabi gleefully tearing off after locking the closet was enough to make even her dear older sister consider violence. Just a small amount, but still, some. She suspects the girl used some sort of rudimentary chakra sealing to shut the door extra tight. Not to mention she had a bleeding Uchiha stuck in here with her, courtesy of her own kunai.

And she doesn’t believe him when he says he’s not nervous. She’s always nervous, but the amount of anxiety pouring off of him almost makes her feel dizzy.

“I suppose I should t-try to call out for someone…” she sighs, because this is exactly why she was nervous. Being close to Sasuke hadn’t made her nervous in a long time, in fact, it was somewhat nice. It had been over two years since she had celebrated his 10^th birthday with him (for which Kō had mildly scolded her), and since then, their interaction had been limited to the Academy, and eventually, their teams going on the occasional mission together.

No, her back pressing against Sasuke’s in a cramped, pitch-black closet didn’t make Hinata nervous. Being found this way did. She was already on thin ice with her father. The rest of the clan whispering about her being private with the Uchiha in her own compounds quarters – in a closet – that was a true nightmare.

“Not yet,” he responds after a pause, and she feels his back move with his deeply inhaled breath, “I know that’s not…ideal. For you.”

“I should h-have just gone to the Hokage’s tower myself.” She hangs her head, letting tears sting the back of her eyes because at least he can’t see her. “If I h-hadn’t asked you drop off that scroll here, this wouldn’t be happening.”

“I should’ve just said no,” he quips back and it makes a surprised giggle bubble from her throat, mixed with an unwilling gasp that almost came out as a sob. She feels him inhale sharply. “Are you crying?”

“No,” she immediately responds, pressing the heels of her palms into her eyes.

“Horrible liar,” he huffs, pulling his back from hers, “alright, stay there.”

She scoots her body as far into the corner as she can while he stands up. Activates her byakugan to get a better picture of what he’s doing, but she sees familiar networks outside of the room – other Hyūga wandering about, and she reaches up for him. She grabs what she thinks is his pant leg, but instead are his fingers–either way, she pulls down on what she grasps. “Please, wait.”

“Eh?”

“I can see there’s a few of my clansmen out there,” she clarifies and smiles sadly when he groans.

“I can’t stay in here all day.” His voice sounds pouty, which makes her feel even worse. He shouldn’t have to be stuck in here with her. “You might also be surprised to know I don’t like it when you cry, either.”

“I’m sorry,” she repeats, sighing.

“Don’t be,” he grumbles and she feels his hand reaching down for her, awkwardly patting the top of her head and side of her face. It makes the corners of her lips tick up, his clumsy endeavor at comfort that he’d surely never offer her in the presence of others. It was still nice. “Do any of them not have a stick up their ass?”

“Ah- no.”

“I don’t know how you live.”

Then, a slightly dimmer and shorter network approaches, and she perks up. Almost certain that it is Neji’s, she reaches up for Sasuke’s hand, which is still patting her head. She’s pretty sure he’s doing it mindlessly; his hand jerks when hers takes it. She pulls herself up with his hand and presses her ear to the door, scooting him out of the way as she does.

Still sensing chakra networks, she waits for most of them to clear away and Neji’s to get closer before calling his name in a hushed voice.

“Hm?” She hears him, and she knocks slightly on the door.

With zero grace, Hinata stumbles forward as the door flies open. Before she can start her inevitable descent to the ground, she abruptly stops at a 60-65 degree angle from the concrete below, Sasuke’s hand gripping the back of her sweater. She looks up to find Neji staring down at her, incredibly disapprovingly. His eyes flit up and become downright angry.

“Uchiha.”

“It’s not-“ what it looks like. She stops herself as she scrambles to stand upright, leaving the obvious part unsaid because it will do little to fix things.

“You should direct that irritation at more suitable targets, like your little cousin,” Sasuke drawls, letting go of Hinata and stepping around her.

“Was that Lady Hanabi’s chakra on the door?” Neji asks Hinata, still mean-mugging Sasuke. Hinata twists her lips, unwilling to burn her sister out, but Sasuke does so just fine.

“Let’s hope I don’t see her on my way out.”

Hinata smiles sheepishly, curling her arms around middle as she watches Sasuke stride away.

“He’s harmless…” she tells Neji, who rolls his eyes and leaves her, too.

…

Hinata remembers the day with fond clarity as she lays on her cot.

When she raises her eyebrows at the sight of a moth, she sucks in a pained breath originating from her forehead, reaching up to rub at the scabbed over Cursed Seal there. Wonders if she’ll regret leaving the village.

When Sasuke disappeared, there was awfully little to stick around for.

A year passes.

The village rebuilds, other villages expand, the seasons change all the same. Messenger birds fly out to all great nations, and the smaller ones, too. Even Hinata and Sasuke receive the same letters.

“One Year Anniversary of the Great War”

Something that is so normal to celebrate, yet such pain permeates every part of life just thinking about it.

Hinata can see the fireworks from Tenchi Bridge, close to where she set up home in the Grass. They’re huge, even from this distance, radiant and sparkling, lighting up a tainted sky and leaving trails of smoke in their wake, over and over. Warm nostalgia floods through her, the sound of children blitzing past her on the bridge, shouting their excitement. A pang of guilt hits her heart as she thinks of those sweet, dark eyes, so gleeful just to take a sparkler in hand and a cinnamon cake in the other.

Sasuke sees them, too. Unwraps one of those cinnamon cake and bites through it, thinks of inky hair and when things were better. The Sound didn’t make a good home, but he didn’t need it to, because there was only one place he could really call home. There’s a certain feeling he can’t quite identify as he listens to the thunderous, yet faint claps of explosions in the sky. One he feels deep in his bones, that perhaps if he just let himself feel it a little bit more, he could place.

Longing.

A strange sort of wistfulness passes through Hinata while she’s picking fresh blooms for the small floral memorial she’d set up for those lost. Makes her stand up and activate her byakugan. Such a bright network, even with an entire limb missing. Unsurprisingly.

It blooms from her neck down, that same longing. It only intensifies when he side steps to reveal himself, though he knows she’s sensed him. Easy enough to confirm when the veins smooth out around her eyes.

“Do you hate me?”

It’s a surprisingly vulnerable question that takes Hinata aback.

Silence looms over them, save their footsteps as they draw closer together. She briefly glimpses his missing limb, then flits back up to his gaze, only to find his eyes locked on her forehead. She reaches up to brush at her bangs because there’s no use hiding it. Surprising even her, he physically recoils, just slightly, upon making out the distinct shape of the Caged Bird Cursed Seal. As if on instinct, he reaches up to rub where his own Cursed Seal once was.

“I’ve never hated you.”

I missed you.

A respectable distance sits between them as they evaluate each other.

Then, his eyes cast down as if troubled. He doesn’t show it by fidgeting with his hands or twisting his foot, she can just feel that familiar Sasuke brand of anxiety. So, Hinata shrinks the distance between them, waiting, until– “I missed you.”

There is never a right time, nothing is ever perfect.

They would take this as it comes. Decades in the making, the clock finally stops ticking away from them. No more pushing her away. No more watching him go.

Hinata tells Sasuke she missed him, too, and that she still does.

Sasuke tells Hinata he’d like to stay here with her.

For the last time.